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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23755324">About 3x14: The Taking of Dispatch 9-1-1</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LouiseLouise/pseuds/LouiseLouise'>LouiseLouise</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Meta</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:48:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,547</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23755324</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LouiseLouise/pseuds/LouiseLouise</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>My thoughts about episode 3x14 "The Taking of Dispatch 9-1-1" aka I loved everything about this episode.</p>
<p>Originally posted <a href="https://theladyandthewolves.tumblr.com/tagged/my-meta">on tumblr</a>, beta and amazing gif by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/nilshki/pseuds/nilshki">nilshki</a>. Header by me. All remaining mistakes are mine.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Howie "Chimney" Han, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>About 3x14: The Taking of Dispatch 9-1-1</h2></a>
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</div><p>I love the <strong>change in narration format</strong>. That opening had me grinning the entire time, I mean usually this kind of opening is for the good guys, the ones we’re supposed to root for, but since we already know Greg can rot in hell for hurting Josh there’s no way we can believe there’s good to those guys, even if they’re made to look cool. Also a very easy way to avoid long boring dialogues to introduce us to the Heist Team. Good job.</p>
<p>Good job too naming one ‘Oliver, The Muscle’, a sweet but not very subtle call out to Oli and his workout fixation. I almost wanted him to escape the cops. Almost.</p>
<p>I love how they use some <strong>classic movie moves </strong>while still giving us a good 911 vibe.</p>
<p>Showing us the epipen, in the beginning, that was nicely done, neither too visible nor too hidden, for an episode of 40 minutes honestly I think it was great, since so much happen in between to make us forget it was there.</p>
<p>The ‘Jake is dead’ too because even if my mind went instantly ‘wait we didn’t see the body that’s suspicious’, I forgot about it on the way and the reveal was cool.</p>
<p>The Heist Team turning against each other, the double (triple?) crossing their partners, the mysterious boss… all good ideas.</p>
<p>Tiffany, being the brains behind the whole operation? Awesome idea! And I kinda wish she got away with it. The lesson here is, ladies if you plan to rob a museum and get revenge for you father’s death, don’t fall in love. Love is bad for your heist needs.</p>
<p>I love that we get a <strong>new heist episode</strong>.It could’ve been boring, repetitive, too similar… it didn’t feel like it to me. This time we know the villains right away, we discover their motives along the way and not only in the end, though there’s still enough grey areas to give material to the ‘recap’ scenes at the end.</p>
<p>The interrogation room montage is a good example of ‘same but different’, it parallels Ocean’s 9-1-1 but with the actual suspects being in custody, not our team. It was also nice seeing that detective again.</p>
<p>The major difference to me is that this time the stakes are higher. We actually care about all the people threatened by Heist Guys, not just one (Hen, being stuck in the vault).They’re our people, the call center people. </p>
<p>Part of me wishes that if this becomes a regular thing we can get the 118 being the ones to do the heist next time. A girl gotta dream, you know!</p>
<p>I love the <strong>change of scenery and character focus</strong>. Don’t get me wrong, I adore the 118 and I think the show does a pretty good job balancing personal storylines and emergency calls, but the call center is always there in the background and it was amazing seeing more of them.</p>
<p>Like, Josh and Sue are often there, Terry played a part during a couple episodes, helping for a police case or when CAD went down, and Linda started the same day as Maddie, and we’ve seen her here and there too, but seeing them as main characters for one episode was great. Seeing them being badass was even better.</p>
<p>Maddie is a badass, giving Chim that message with a fragile hope that he’ll understand. Sue is a badass, passing that code to Athena and keeping her from being shot, then pointing that gun at Foster. Josh is a badass sending Athena to Chim’s place right under Heist Guy’s nose, then pushing away the gun that would’ve shot Terry.</p>
<p>But you know who I loved even more? Linda.<strong> Linda is the unexpected badass here</strong>, she’s the second one to attempt something after Maddie, passing her the message about the area downtown the baddies don’t want police to snoop. Then she points out that faking a heart attack would be a bad idea, preventing Maddie from taking a stupid risk. BUT, when Maddie gets in trouble, she just goes and fake an allergic reaction. I mean, that woman seemed scared and fragile the first time we saw her. During the tsunami, she’s having a hard time hanging up a call and giving up. But now we see her brave and smart, and I love her more and more.</p>
<p>Thanks to the multiple <strong>scenes outside the call center</strong>, I think there was a good balance between very very tense moments and little comedy scenes. Like Chim vs. his phone, the couple at the car collision, and Buck ambushing Athena and waiting for her to be mad. Which she’s not, she probably expected him to do something even more reckless. Her face when she walks up to him is priceless. So blasé.</p>
<p><strong>Chim’s scenes</strong> at the beginning were adorable and funny. Chim jokes a lot but it’s often sarcasm or mockery so this was new and refreshing, mocking himself, doubting himself. <em>Don’t be that guy</em>… Yes please Chim, be that guy. I loved that we’ve seen a lot of Maddie and Chim in season 3B and it was all subtly leading to this. To Maddie being able to send a coded message. To Chim being worried about Maddie <em>and</em> worried that he’s being paranoid.</p>
<p>It felt realistic, to not have Chim and Buck all worried right away, because they don’t really have proof to do so.</p>
<p>Buck being the reasonable one out of the two was also refreshing and one of the many proofs that the man has changed over the seasons. <strong>We could expect Buck to be reckless</strong>, to wanna jump into action and do something risky to save his sister, the way he did in Fight or Flight. But he’s not the guy who wanted to tear down a wall with a sledgehammer risking to hurt a baby anymore. He’s the guy who takes the time to think before suggesting a course of action at a bowling alley. And it changes everything.</p>
<p>In Fight of Fight, Buck stole a phone, went behind Athena's back, thought he was alone in this and didn't ask for help. He thought he was all his sister had. He was desperate, which is understandable.</p>
<p>Now he’s the one trying to reassure Chim instead of panicking right away. He doesn’t worry until they have more information, but he’s still by Chim’s side, being supportive, wanting to help. Then when Athena shows up and things start to get serious, he’s the one advising against a SWAT intervention. He thinks about the consequences, the risks. He doesn’t go to the call center on his own, he joins Athena and Chim. He lets her do her job. He trusts her, and then he trusts SWAT to know what they’re doing.</p>
<p>Maybe Buck also chooses to stay calm to balance Chim’s worry, and not add more.</p>
<p>So anyway, as much as I love Buck wielding a sledgehammer, I love Buck being mature and trusting even more.</p>
<p>The one thing I’m not sure I liked is <strong>Buck not going to hug Maddie</strong>. The scene mirrors the episode where he’s the one holding her in the snow, while Chim is far away, at the hospital. So this time part of me finds it frustrating not to see them reunited, part of me thinks it’s sweet of him to step back, and give Chim and Maddie some space. Sweet and mature too, to know that he’ll have time later on to greet her. But a bit sad if he really thinks that she doesn’t need him there, and that Chim is all she needs.</p>
<p>Maddie’s the only one shown right after police takes back the call center but I would’ve loved to see the others too, like Josh and Linda, and Terry.</p>
<p>The episode ends like Ocean’s 9-1-1 did, with a <strong>classic recap with the missing pieces of the puzzle</strong>. I genuinely adore that type of ending. It’s fun, light, it’s actually interesting because though the story is quite clear, seeing it in order helps. It gives us all the little things people did while not on screen and the classic ‘so did they catch the baddies in the end’.</p>
<p>It was nice seeing Bobby, Michael and the kids, after an episode without our usual team.</p>
<p>And I’m seriously getting addicted to <strong>evenings with Chim, Maddie, Buck and Josh</strong>. We’ve already seen one of those so it makes sense that the four of them gather again after the events, but mostly it’s nice to see new dynamics between old characters. It’s nice to see Buck spending time with people other than Eddie or just Maddie, and without the entire 118 around.</p>
<p>Also, though I’m not shipping Josh and Buck (as friends yes, romantic, not really) I could probably go with it, if the show decided to choose that path.</p>
<p>I’m probably forgetting a million things I liked about this episode but I’ll just say, it felt good to be carried away in a story, with drama and comedy and a plot twist, and a very satisfying ending.</p>
<p>Now I might plan on watching the movie <em>The Taking of Pelham One Two Three</em>, to see if it has more things in common with the episode than the title and the hostage situation!</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much for reading this not-fic!<br/>Like always, I welcome every kudo, emoji and comment ♥  I'm behind on replying to comments but I read them all and I'm gonna do my best to get back to replying.<br/>Just keep in mind that I try to avoid spoilers for upcoming episodes as much as I can, if you decide to comment!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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